


Head-to-Toe Leather

by charlieboi81



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-05-24 21:37:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6167599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlieboi81/pseuds/charlieboi81
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry couldn't get those words out of his head. <em>Being scooped up by a guy clad in head-to-toe leather is a long time fantasy of mine, so thanks.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at any sort of fan fiction.
> 
> Update (5/22/16): I've decided to try and make this story a bit longer and flesh out Barry and Hartley's relationship with the goal of giving them a HEA. I mean, don't they really deserve one?

Several Months Earlier

Barry couldn't get those words out of his head. _Being scooped up by a guy clad in head-to-toe leather is a long time fantasy of mine, so thanks._ Sure, he'd known he was interested in guys since he was younger, but Cisco had called Hartley a dick and couldn't have been more accurate. Perhaps, being a certifiable genius, Hartley managed to find the easiest way to get under his skin.

There is no doubt that Hartley was beautiful. With a few simple words, Hartley got into his head. Barry couldn't help but imagine Flash taking Hartley into his arms and kissing the smirk off his face. He would bend Hartley over a table and make him moan or push him down to his knees and make him submit to Flash, or to Barry. 

Barry hadn't really been with another man since his junior year of college. He'd dated a fellow junior named Anthony. Their relationship burned bright and fast. Despite how passionate they were for one another, they really had nothing in common and the relationship ended quickly. So it was pretty surprising how Hartley managed to get under his skin so quickly. 

"It's a bit on the nose," Cisco called out over the earpiece. "But our research tells us that Hartley has been hanging out at a gay bar called The Rook."

Barry had heard of the place. It was an upscale bar that catered to a more elite clientele. The last time Barry had gone there, he ran into Captain Singh. After that, he didn't have the courage to return.

"I'm on it," Barry said over the communication device. He sped off towards the club. It was on the other side of town but it wouldn't take more than a minute to get there. Yet in that short amount of time, Barry couldn't help but wonder what Hartley was seeking out in the club. 

"Wait," Cisco interrupted his thoughts. "Don't you need me to tell you how to get there?"

That caused Barry to stutter in his steps. He stopped in an alley a couple of blocks away from this bar.

"No," Barry said. He paused a moment trying to decide how much he really wanted to reveal. He was out to Joe. It was hard to keep a secret from the man. And Iris had known he was bi for the longest time. But Cisco, Caitlyn and Dr. Wells didn't know. 

Rather than lie, he took the straightforward approach. "I've been there before. I know where it is."

"Well, look at you," Cisco replied. "Get down with your bad self."

Barry snorted and Cisco continued. "Once you get inside the bar, I'll mute the line on our end. Hartley shouldn't be able to pick up on the signal. I'll only communicate with you if I absolutely have to."

Taking a lesson from Oliver, Barry observed the bar before making a move. He made his way into the second floor office where he was able to access the bar's security footage. Despite Cisco's assurance, Hartley was nowhere to be found.

In his mind, Barry pictured Hartley sitting at the bar, a drink in his hand, turning away any man who had the courage to try and come on to him. Barry would make his way over, make the standoffish man laugh and they would end up on a bed or some other horizontal surface. 

But the truth is that the man was usually two moves ahead of everyone else, except perhaps Dr. Wells. Which is why, when Barry turned around and saw Hartley Rathaway, the Pied Piper, standing behind him with a smirk on his face and his sonic gloves pointed out to Barry. 

"Hey there, Flash,” Hartley said as he looked him up and down. “Still look good in the head-to-toe leather.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going back in time has changed more than Barry ever thought possible.

Present Day

It had only been a couple of weeks since Barry had gone back in time to gleam some insight from Eobard Thawne in the form of the fake Dr. Wells. Thanks to his journey to the past, he was able to get the information he needed to defeat Zoom, with the added benefit of converting Hartley to Team Flash. Barry lay on his bed with an arm tucked behind his head and thought once again of Hartley. Ever since he had joined Team Flash, Barry couldn’t help the discreet glances between the two of them. He’d gone home every night to a cold shower that, thanks to his advanced metabolism and regenerative abilities, never really sufficed.

He once again found himself in bed with his right hand slowly trailing down his body. His hand always made a stop at his nipple, plucking and squeezing and teasing, before moving down to his plump cock. Stroking his cock to hardness, he thought back to earlier that day. Hartley had smiled at him and bit his lip as he pointed out how to stop Bug-Eyed Bandit after she broke out of Iron Heights. His plan had been to have Barry use some of his own sonic devices to short-circuit her robotic bees.

Just the one little smirk was enough to remind him of the night several months back in the backroom of the gay bar known as The Rook. Flash took Pied Piper into his arms claiming that he was going to take him into custody. At least until Hartley wrapped a hand around the back of Barry’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. Feeling the other man’s tongue brush against his was enough to make Barry weak in the knees. It was mainly an attempt on Hartley’s part to steal Barry’s earpiece so he could connect to S.T.A.R. Labs communication system, but the kiss haunted Barry’s thoughts for months.

At the thought of pushing the kiss further, pulling off the layers of black, tracing all the moles that dotted that beautiful, slim body, and taking Hartley into his mouth, Barry spurted come all over his stomach. It didn’t matter. He’d eventually start thinking of the other man again and the process would begin all over. There were days where his supernatural speed was less of a blessing and more of a curse.  
Barry shifted from his bed and pulled his cellphone from the docking base on his nightstand. Pulling up his contacts, Barry hit send and called the one person that could answer the question that had been haunting Barry’s thoughts for the past few days.

“Yo, Barry my man,” Cisco said when he answered the phone. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Cisco,” Barry responded. He took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face, trying to gather up the nerve to face his demons. Cisco had been the only person he could confide in since going into the past. He’d been able to update Barry on the changes he’d made to the timeline. “I need you to answer something for me.”

“Sure, man. Anything. What do you need to know?”

“I need you to tell me about a mission that you helped me out with. It was back in March. The 5th specifically.” That day was forever etched in Barry’s mind. “I went on a mission that took me to a back room in a bar called The Rook. Can you tell me who I fought there?”

“I’m sorry, man,” Cisco answered. “I don’t remember helping you out with a mission at The Rook. Maybe it was Hartley who helped you out with that mission. That was just around the time he had broken up with his boyfriend.”

That was all the answer he needed. He had heard about the boyfriend that Hartley had broken up with just after joining Team Flash. Though he’d never met the man, knowing that Hartley was with someone else brought up the jealousy and insecurity Barry fought to hide.

“Thanks, Cisco. Don’t worry about it. See you later.”


	3. Chapter 3

Barry didn’t return to S.T.A.R. Labs for the next two days. Thankfully, the metahumans of Central City had taken a couple of days off and his work kept him busy enough not for an excuse not to stop by. Being around Hartley made Barry unable to think of anything else but the other man. But duty always called and before he knew it, Barry found himself called in when Central City police received word of a metahuman causing havoc at the city’s bayside. 

Because it’s just his luck, the first person Barry sees when he races into the room is Hartley, his long neck bent over the computer screen at the panel in front of him. He’d taken his glasses off and was idly scratching the side of his head with the the tips. Because of his superior hearing, Hartley was always the first one to hear Barry arrive. 

“Hey there, Flash,” Hartley announced before anyone else had noticed him. He turned his head and smirked at the outfit Barry had on, a S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt and sweatpants that had seen better days. Hartley, as always, looked impeccable in a button down collared shirt with the tie long gone and pressed slacks. “Nice outfit.”

“It’s Saturday. I was cleaning up my apartment,” Barry stuttered by way of explanation. It was a lie and Hartley knew it. Hartley visibly held back a laugh and turned back to the computers at the center console. Cisco had told him that Hartley had massively changed after Barry had altered the past. Having only dealt with Hartley as the Pied Piper, Barry could only gage how much Hartley had changed from Cisco’s admittedly skewed perspective. 

Ignoring Barry’s unease, Hartley proceeded to fill Barry in on the matter at hand. “A new metahuman has popped up on our radar. What his exact abilities are and to what extent he can use them, I still don’t know. At first, I thought it was Rainbow Raider. But the pattern is inconsistent. Raider incites rage in his victims that causes them to lash out to any and every person nearby. Instead, it appears that the people being affected aren’t losing control of their emotions but are being consumed by them.”

Hartley pulled up a CCTV feed from a shop near the bay. On the screen, one person stood while all the people nearby crouched or lay on the ground, many of them clutching their hands to their heads. Despite wearing a hood, it was clear that the metahuman was male. Before Barry could race off, a firm hand wrapped around his wrist. Looking down at Hartley, Barry thoughts scattered. He knew he had to race down to the bayside but he wanted to feel Hartley’s touch in other places beside his wrist. 

“Before you go and do something undoubtedly stupid,” Hartley reprimanded, “I have something that could be of assistance.”

Hartley walked over to the panel here his suit was located. As he pulled out his hood, Hartley tinkered with the lightning bolts the housed the suits communication devices. “I was thinking about how you are other speedsters are able to filter your voice through the vibration of your vocal cords. My goal was to create a filter in the headpiece that could, in theory, undo the vibration. This way, we might be able to record Zoom’s real voice and determine his identity.”

“That is amazing, Hartley.” Barry smiled, always impressed by Hartley’s genius. 

“Well,” Hartley hemmed. “That was the idea. Instead, I think I may have found a way to prevent people like Rainbow Raider from using vocal commands to influence your thoughts or emotions. It may come in useful against whoever this guy is.”

“How is that possible?”

“I’ll explain later,” Hartley said. “Just be careful.”

With one last glance at Hartley, Barry sped off, changing into his outfit and out towards the bayside. He arrived to a similar panic he saw on the CCTV video feed. Most people had run off, but those caught within a 10-yard radius were lying on the ground. Barry looked around and saw that many had tears in their eyes or were muttering insensible words. But they didn’t appear to be in pain, just distressed. Just beyond them, stood the man in the hood. His outfit, all black, reminded Barry of his first encounter with the Pied Piper. The only difference was the glasses the man wore. While Hartley wore his tortoise shell glasses, the metahuman before him wore a pair of dark wraparound sunglasses that hid his eyes. 

“So, this is The Flash,” the man in the black hood announced. “I’ve got to say, I don’t see the appeal.”


	4. Chapter 4

If Cisco were present, he probably would’ve probably named the metahuman something senseless like the Obsidian Mentalist. Or maybe just the Unmentalist, since everyone seems to be losing their mind around him. But Barry had to focus on what was important now. He made a side note to tell Cisco the name he’d come up with later. 

"Whoever you are, whatever you are doing here, you have to stop," Barry commanded. "You are hurting innocent people." He gestured towards a woman crouched on the floor with her head nearly tucked between her knees. Her hands were clasped to her ears and she kept mumbling something over and over. “They haven’t done anything to you.”

“No, Flash,” the Unmentalist responded. “But you have. You took everything from me. My whole world was ruined because of you, and I’m here to get my payback.”

“I don’t know who you are or how I’ve affected you, but you have to stop.”

“Go ahead, Flash,” the Unmentalist responded with a chuckle. “Go ahead and try to stop me.”

Talking with the man was getting Barry nowhere. As Barry ran towards the Unmentalist, he saw the other man’s lips move just barely. Though no words came out, Barry reached for his ears automatically, and stumbled to a stop. Unwittingly, Barry had a flashback of what it was like to be under Rainbow Raider’s influence. He didn’t know he was affected, yet nothing would stop the rage. The fear crept in and Barry couldn’t help but wonder if he was affected again. What would he do? Who would he hurt? How could he be stopped?

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been crouched there clutching his head but when he finally looked up, the Unmentalist was gone. Other than the fact that he showed he could best Barry, nothing seemed to have been taken or broken. As he looked around, he saw that the other affected people were starting to regain their clarity. 

By the time the police and rescue had arrived, Barry had checked on the others and found them all to be in good health. He rushed back to S.T.A.R. Labs to find Hartley focused intently on the center console. After working closely with Hartley for the last few weeks, he knew better than to bother the man when he was concentrating. Instead, Barry did what had become habit. He stood back and watched the other man. His forehead was creased and he was biting his lips, which meant he was worried. His typing was frantic. 

Finally, when Barry couldn’t take the silence any more, he stepped into Hartley’s line of sight and coughed discreetly. When he saw that Hartley had been pulled away from his thoughts, he walked forward and stared at the scientist. 

“What’s going on? What has you so worried?”

With anyone else, Hartley would’ve been standoffish and, more than likely, rude. Instead, he found that Hartley was open and honest when speaking with Barry.”

“I was monitoring the interactions. I wanted to take readings and see what I could do to help you. Everything was fine, until the end when you charged. There was too much static to determine the words he said. I had to go back to the feed and remove the distortions.”

“What words?” Barry interrupted. “I didn’t hear him say anything.”

“That’s because your communication gear blocked out both his words and the sub-vocal commands. Here is the recording.”

Hartley pulled up the video feed from his suit and forwarded it to the moment just before he charged at the Unmentalist. Once Hartley hit play, the words from the Unmentalist’s mouth rang out clear as day. 

“Face your fears.”


	5. Chapter 5

After Hartley had shown him the video recording, Hartley insisted on running tests. They’d ran so many tests that Caitlin would’ve been proud. Despite being a physicist and not a medical doctor, Hartley knew his way around practically all the equipment in the lab. After the brain scan, Barry put a stop to Hartley’s insistence on further testing. 

“Well, since you won’t let me run an MRI,” Hartley groused, “I’ll have to make due with what I was able to check so far. Your brain scan looks fine. There is a bit more activity in your amygdala and ventral pre-frontal cortex. But that can be attributed to the stress of the fight. I’m going to have Caitlin look at the scans. She’ll need to run further tests.”

Hartley’s glasses dipped low on the bridge of his nose. Barry felt a longing to gently nudge them back up but he stilled his hand before it could betray him. What if Hartley didn’t appreciate the action? What if Barry’s attempt at physical interaction was unwanted? What if Barry’s attraction was unwarranted? What if…

Barry often thought back about that night at The Rook. The night that, because of his actions, never even happened. Despite the change being much for the better, Barry longed for that night once more. 

_"Hey there, Flash,” Hartley said as he looked him up and down. “Still look good in the head-to-toe leather.”_

_Hartley sauntered toward him. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his sonic gloves could hurt Barry or maybe Hartley could read minds and knew the Barry didn’t want to hurt the smaller man, but Hartley didn’t seem to be concerned about Barry stopping him._

_“What are you after, Piper?”_

_Seeing Hartley as the Piper and not a flesh and bone man put things back into perspective for him. But looking into the other man’s eyes reminded him it was Hartley Rathaway standing before him nonetheless._

_“I’m only after one thing, Flash. You.” With that, Hartley had stepped into his space, wrapped his hand around the taller man’s neck and pulled him in to a kiss._

His body was reacting to the memory. Barry felt himself get hard and pushed away his racy thoughts. More and more, it only seemed that they would lead to heartbreak. Mainly, his own heart being broken. 

Hartley had recently made up with his parents. They had disowned him when he came out as gay. But that had all changed after Barry had altered the past. Though he couldn’t remember it, Hartley explained that Barry was the reason he had made the effort to reconnect with his parent. During a night that Barry couldn’t remember but that Hartley would never forget, Barry had told him about the pain of losing his mother and the urge to connect with his father as often as possible. 

Though Hartley never explicitly said as much, Barry felt that Hartley was putting aside any romantic endeavors so as not to endanger the fragile connection his family had built. The confident Hartley of a previous timeline was replaced by a man who was happy, if a bit reserved. 

Perhaps it was better that way. Focusing on the matter at hand, Barry could put aside the feelings he’d developed for the smaller man. 

“I’ll work with Cisco tomorrow to see if we can come up with something that can help you block the sub-vocal commands.”

“What about if you joined me,” Barry asked weakly. “As the Pied Piper?” 

He knew he didn’t sound convincing. It wasn’t really something they had ever discussed but, in this case, it seemed like having the Pied Piper there would be to his advantage?”

Hartley laughed briefly before sobering up and looking at Barry directly. 

“No. I don’t think so.” He shook his head for effect and continued. “The Pied Piper is nothing but a villain to this town. I’ve done too much bad to be any benefit to you.”

“Everyone can change. I need you out there with me, Hartley. I need you beside me as the Pied Piper. Because of your hearing aids, you are impervious to sub-vocal commands.”

“I don’t think I’d be of any help to you.”

“I can’t do it without you.”

“I’ll tell you what, we’ll discuss this with the rest of team Flash tomorrow. We’ll see what they think.”

Unsure of whether he should push further and scared that he’ll drive the other man away, Barry relents and nods, watching as the scientist walks away.


	6. Chapter 6

When the team converged to discuss how to proceed with the newest metahuman threat, the tension between Hartley and Barry was palpable. Whenever Barry approached the other man, he would claim to need something on the other side of the room and walk away. Even as the discussion went on, Hartley continued working on his project and didn’t contribute much to the conversation.

“The Unmentalist,” Cisco practically cried out. “Nice name by the way. I’m totally jealous I didn’t come up with it myself.”

“Get on with it Ramon,” Dr. Wells drawled. 

“Well,” Cisco continued, shooting a rude look towards Wells. “As I mentioned before, his powers seem to interrupt brain function, causing the amygdala to produce an overabundance of emotions. In this case, fear.”

“As far as we can tell,” Caitlin continued, “the people affected were mostly overcome with memories or images that caused them great fear. Joe has interviewed a few people. They’re all fine but a little shaken up. However, repeated exposure to such stimuli could cause a person to lose their mind.”

“Essentially, he can cause someone to become unhinged,” Cisco clarified. “We also don’t know if he can control people beyond just their fears. If he develops his abilities any further, he may be able to control people’s actions.”

“We have to stop him,” Barry interjected. “If only we knew who he was or how to track him down.”

“His name is Chip,” Hartley announced to the room, joining the conversation for the first time. He was uncharacteristically somber. “We dated a while back. He was a firefighter with CCFD. The day of the explosion he was working in the area. The police and the fire department were on high alert in case there was rioting or in case something went wrong with the particle accelerator.”

“And you didn’t tell us,” Cisco questioned. 

“Were there any signs of him becoming a metahuman after the explosion,” Dr. Wells questioned.

“What happened between you and Chip?”

As always, it was Caitlin that asked the question on Barry’s mind. He couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy at the reminder that Hartley had a past. Despite the rational side of his brain reminding him that he had a past as well, Barry needed to know Hartley no longer had any feelings for the fireman. 

Even though Hartley still had his back to the group, perhaps he could sense the conflict inside Barry and chose to answer Caitlin. “We broke up not long after the explosion of the particle accelerator. Because of my issues with my family and the side effects of the explosion, I threw myself into my work. He wanted more commitment from me than I could give and eventually I broke it off.”

When he turned around, Barry could see sadness in Hartley’s eyes but no longing or desperation. Hope fluttered in his chest at the possibility that Hartley was already over the other man. 

“He wanted us to get back together but I told him I couldn’t. He stormed off and I hadn’t seen him again until he attacked Barry.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Just after I became the Pied Piper and joined the group,” Hartley admitted. Though Barry wasn’t sure of the significance, Caitlin seemed to gasp out a soft “oh”. He looked around the room and saw the even Cisco and Wells had caught on to the significance of this. 

“I’m sorry,” Barry finally said out loud. “But I don’t understand. What happened when Hartley joined the group that would cause Chip,” he snorted derisively at the name, letting his jealousy seethe, “to develop powers and attack Central City?”

At this, Hartley huffed out a breath of frustration and left the room. Surprisingly, it was Cisco, not Caitlin, who ran after him. Wells, though not involved himself, decided to leave the room and find something better to do. 

“Barry,” Caitlin started. “Hartley broke up with this Chip guy after he joined Team Flash.”

Barry wasn’t trying to be hardheaded. He just didn’t understand what this had to do with him. Sensing that he didn’t understand, Caitlin smiled, patted his arm, and explained one more time. 

“Hartley broke up with this ex after he met you.”


	7. Chapter 7

Armed with the knowledge that Hartley felt more for him than just a friend or colleague, Barry sought the other man out. As he approached the room that Hartley often used when he needed a space to work alone, he overheard Cisco speaking with Hartley. He stood by the door and observed the two. 

“Just give it time, man. He’ll come around, I’m sure of it. Things are just a little difficult for him at the moment.”

Hartley laughed and slammed whatever he was working on down onto the metal table in front of him. “Like him changing the past and having no clue that a relationship was developing between us?”

Cisco grimaced. “You figured it out?”

“Yes, Cisco. I did. And know I know you kept it from me. I’m guessing Caitlin knew as well?”

“Yes, she did. But we only kept it a secret because Barry asked us to. We figured things would return to normal. I’m sorry.”

Deciding it was better to acknowledge his presence rather than be found out, Barry took a step forward and knocked on the door.   
“Cisco, can Hartley and I have a moment alone?”

“Sure, man,” Cisco got up and started to walk out. He stopped and turned to the two men. “Good luck,” he said. Nobody seemed to know who he was addressing the statement to as Cisco quickly left the room. 

As Barry was putting together his thoughts, Hartley decided to speak first. “I’m sorry, Barry. You shouldn’t have to put up with my issues. Chip is my problem and only went after you because of me.”

“No,” Barry interrupted. “We are a team. Chip is our problem.” Gathering his courage, Barry said what was really on his mind. “I’m sorry that I don’t know what went on with us after you joined the team. But I’m not sorry that I went back in time. We were enemies once and now I have a chance to be your friend.” He took the last few steps towards Hartley and looked into those soft blue bespectacled eyes. “You’ve been in my thoughts since the moment I met you. Since the moment I saw your beautiful blue eyes, I knew I wanted to get to know you better. When I realized that changing the past meant that I could spend more time with you, I was happier than I ever thought. It meant I finally had a chance at being with you.”

He was hoping for a sign, a chance that would allow him to kiss the beautiful man before him. Before he could even have a chance, Hartley   
grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. A tremor ran through Barry’s body as their lips met and he melted into Hartley as the shorter man pried his mouth open and their tongues met. Perhaps he needed to grab on to something, or maybe he just wanted to have a chance to touch Hartley, but his hands went up to touch and caress Hartley’s face and jaw and neck. He bit softly on Hartley's lower lip and shivered at the moan that came out of Hartley's mouth. 

An alarm sounded in the facility, a signal that a metahuman was wreaking havoc on Central City. Barry and Hartley pulled apart. Hartley leaned forward and stood on the tips of his toes to place one last kiss on the side of Barry’s mouth. Barry closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment to soak in the pleasure of this moment with Hartley. 

“Let’s go Flash. The city needs you.” With that, Hartley reached out for Barry’s hand and they walked hand-in-hand back to the main lab.

“It’s a trap,” Cisco announced. “The Unmentalist is in downtown Central City and he’s got everyone in a two-mile radius terrified out of their minds.

“It may be a trap but this is the only chance I have to confront him and try to put an end to this,” Barry said. “I’m going to put an end to this.”

“Not alone,” Hartley declared. “It’s time Central City saw the Pied Piper as something other than a villain.” Nobody argued as Hartley gathered his equipment and quickly pulled on his gear as Barry quickly changed into his. Once he was ready, Barry wrapped his hand around Hartley’s waist, taking a quick moment to appreciate the feel of the other man in his arms, and ran out of the room towards the battle.


	8. Chapter 8

As Barry and Hartley arrived downtown, they took in the sight of the chaos around them. All the people caught under the Chip’s control were in various states of distress. They could see people cowering, screaming, pointing and shouting at things that weren’t there, or fighting openly in the streets. 

“It looks like the fear has progressed,” Caitlin announced into the headphones in Barry’s headgear. Hartley’s sonic hearing aids had apparently been adjusted to pick up the same frequency. Though Barry couldn’t see a microphone, he clearly heard Hartley’s response over his headpiece. 

“It’s possible that Chip’s ability has developed even further but more than likely his victims are reacting to the perceived threat of their fear. I adjusted Barry’s head piece and my hearing aids to be impervious to The Unmentalist’s sub-vocal commands.”

“Let’s hope that’s enough to counter the effects,” Wells drawled. 

As they rounded the corner of the nearest building, they saw The Unmentalist. Dressed all in black, he reminded Barry of his battles against Hartley. He glanced over and saw Hartley beside him, a sonic glove encased hand pointed towards his ex. 

“Stop this now, Chip. You were a good man once. You can still be a good man and stop this madness.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Hartley. I didn’t know you’d joined Flash here in the heroics. I thought you were just one of his lab monkeys. Or perhaps you’ve joined him in his bed as well as in the lab.”

Anger rose in Barry at the insult Hartley’s ex threw out, but Hartley didn’t take the bait. 

“I’m sorry for the way things ended, Chip. You deserved so much more than I could ever give you. But terrorizing the people of Central City is wrong. You know this.”

“Perhaps, but it feels so right. When we were together, I was afraid I wasn’t enough for you. And when you broke up with me so that you could be a Flash groupie, I was so angry. It wasn’t until I realized I could control these actions in others that I decided to take revenge. I want you to know it felt to be in my shoes.”

Chip’s lips continued to move but no sound came out. The people caught under The Unmentalist's control around them screamed louder and Barry realized he was speaking at a sub-vocal level. Unlike last time, Barry wasn’t crippled with fear, even if he did feel a sort of heavy pressure around his ears. 

“Barry,” Hartley’s voice rang clear through his headset. “I’ll keep Chip distracted with my sonic gloves. You try to create a vacuum around him. It will drown out his commands and you may be able to knock him out.”

Though he was loath to leave Hartley alone in battle, he had to trust in the other man’s ability to defend himself. He ran off to a location where he could observe Chip and Barry and make his move. 

Chip’s training as a firefighter allowed him to dodge the sonic blasts Hartley sent out. But that meant that he was unable to hold his control on the others and make an escape as well. Barry could see that Chip was trying to get closer to Hartley, perhaps to disarm him. That’s when Barry made his move. He was far enough from his victims and Hartley that Barry could encircle the other man and trap him in a speed vortex. The pressure in Barry’s ears lessened as the air thinned out and Chip could no longer issue his commands. With Chip subdued, Barry was able to pounce and knock him out with one solid punch. 

He turned to make sure that Hartley was okay but the other man was just grinning at him. As people came out of their daze, a few people ran over to thank The Flash. But, to the surprise of both of them, several people also ran up to the Pied Piper to thank him for his courage and heroism. 

When they finally returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry and Hartley were able to lock Chip away in his cell. As the man woke up, he saw them both and made an attempt to break through the glass. 

“Don’t fight it, Chip,” Hartley said. “The cells are impenetrable and drown out your abilities. I know from experience.”

Hartley turned to leave but Barry had something he wanted to get off of his chest. 

“You may have thought that facing my fears would drive me insane but you were wrong. I did face my fears.” Barry looked over at Hartley, who was standing back but clearly listening. “I faced my fears and because of that, I am happier now than I’ve been in my entire life.”

Chip began to pound against the barrier preventing his escape but his shouts were drowned out as Barry followed Hartley out of the room holding his cell.

As the stepped out into the corridor, Hartley grabbed his hand and pulled him so that they were facing each other. Hartley pulled back the Flash’s mask to look into Barry’s eyes. 

“Thank you, Barry. I know it wasn’t what you intended to happen. But thank you for changing the timeline. I know how unhappy I was as the Pied Piper. I was ruled by anger and fear. Because of you, I am happy again. You make me happy again.”

Barry pulled Hartley into his arms and kissed him, making sure to pour in all of the love, joy, and happiness Hartley brought out in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a long time to finish this story but I'm glad I finally did. Originally, it was meant to be a drabble. But I decided to expand it and give Barry and Hartley a happy ending.


End file.
